


Bad Girls Do It Well

by veleda_k



Category: White Collar
Genre: F/F, porn with characterization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-03-18
Packaged: 2018-01-16 05:13:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1333306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veleda_k/pseuds/veleda_k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel tracks down Sara in London for a little, ahem, hands on research. Porn with characterization. (More characterization than porn, really. Oops.) Spoilers for 5x11.</p>
<p>Contains consent issues. The sex is consensual, but if Sara knew who/what Rachel really was, she wouldn't be sleeping with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bad Girls Do It Well

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "Bad Girls" by M.I.A

It’s an art of its own, becoming a new person. It’s more than a new name, a new hairstyle. It’s shifting, adapting, and becoming, over and over again. 

Rachel’s an expert at it by now. She can pick up and become someone new at a moment’s notice. Some identities take more work than others though. Rebecca Lowe has to be perfect. Neal Caffrey reads people for a living, so her disguise can’t be less than flawless.

She’s put out feelers with the new name. She needs to get used to being called Rebecca until it’s second nature to answer it. But more than that, most importantly, she needs to understand who Rebecca is.

Rebecca is sexy without knowing it. Rebecca is smart but naïve. Rebecca has a sense of humor, but it’s never mean spirited. Rebecca has a longing for adventure and excitement that’s just waiting to be unleashed.

Rachel looks at the London streets through Rebecca’s eyes. Rebecca likes London, though she prefers somewhere more off the beaten path. Like Rachel, Rebecca is a world traveler. Unlike Rachel, Rebecca travels purely for pleasure.

The trip to London is an opportunity to try out being Rebecca, but Rachel has more than one reason for choosing this particular city. Rachel has studied every aspect of Caffrey’s life, but she has, by necessity, always stayed out of sight, the unknown observer. Now, she finally has a chance to get up close and personal without fearing that it will get back to Caffrey. She’s going to have to be Caffrey’s perfect woman until she can get Mosconi’s treasure. The research stage is vital.

It wasn’t easy, figuring out how to get close to Sara Ellis. The woman doesn’t go to bars. She doesn’t date. She goes to the gym, but doesn’t talk to anyone while she’s there. Mostly, she works.

Alex Hunter is one of the best fences in the business. Kate Moreau was Vincent Adler’s dedicated employee. Professional women. Rebecca will care about her career.

Sara’s job turned out to be the way in. Sterling Bosch’s computer security is good, but not good enough to keep Rachel out. Once in, it was only a matter of finding a sufficiently high profile case. Sara is hungry to prove herself. Rachel knows how hard it is for a young, attractive woman to be taken seriously. 

A stolen Warhol fits Rachel’s purposes nicely. It isn’t hard to track down the thief, not with Rachel’s resources and knowledge. Then she prints a few business cards, sets up a web site advertising herself as a private security consultant, and reaches out to Sara via email. 

Rachel’s cover isn’t perfect. She could make it so, if she took a little more time. But she thinks the hint of something illicit will pique Sara’s interest. This is a woman who dated a man who was still technically under investigation by her company. 

Sara responds to Rachel’s email within fifteen minutes. Rachel refuses to divulge details in writing, so they set up a meeting tomorrow, 1:00 PM, at a small, trendy café. Rachel immediately heads over the canvass the place, taking note of all entrances and exits, angles of attack, places to plant bugs, everything she can think of. Rachel’s come as far as she has by planning for every contingency.

She spends the rest of the day getting into the right mindset. She won’t be Rebecca Lowe for Sara. Rebecca’s too sweet, to earnest. But she’ll be something close. The business cards and website identify her as Rebecca Peterson. Rebecca Lowe with an edge. Flexibility is key. 

Rachel gets to the café early to scope it out one last time. Then she ducks out, reappearing at a minute til one, to find Sara waiting for her. Rachel smiles and holds out of her hand. “Hi. Rebecca Peterson, Peterson Security.”

Sara shakes her hand. “Sara Ellis. But you know that.”

Rachel sits down. “I do. Mr. Zhang told me you were looking for his painting.”

Sara raises her eyebrows. “You work for Mr. Zhang? He never mentioned you.”

Rachel smiles knowingly. “Mr. Zhang prefers to keep me off book.” She meets Sara’s eyes. “I do more than security. I get my clients what they want. Whatever it takes to make that happen, that’s what I do.” She sees a flicker of respect in Sara’s eyes, and maybe some recognition as well. Like Rebecca Peterson, Sara knows how to get a job done.

“So, why did you contact me, if you prefer to be off book?” Sara asks.

“Like I said, I get my clients what they want. Mr. Zhang wants his painting back. I looked you up. You’re not adverse to… unconventional solutions.”

Sara smiles. “No, I’m not. But I need this to be a clean win.” 

“Prove to the old boys club that you can get the job done. Trust me, I get that.” The best lies contain an element of truth. “It’s not easy being a powerful woman.”

Sara nods. “I’m interested in working together, but not if it might jeopardize the investigation.” There’s a trace of suspicion in her eyes. Rachel admires that.

“It won’t, I promise.” Rachel spends to rest of the meeting feeding Sara bits of information, useful hints but nothing that would raise too many questions. Sara’s suspicion was a useful hook, but now Rachel needs to disarm it. 

The whole time, Rachel catalogues Sara’s mannerisms, expressions, and body language. She makes a joke about Jed Johnson to hear how Sara laughs. 

The two of them talk a full hour before Sara needs to get back to work. Rachel stands, takes Sara’s hand, and holds it just a fraction of a second longer than would be proper. “I hope you won’t involve my name in your investigation. As I said, I prefer to work of book.” It’s a risky request after the work she’s been put in to bring Sara’s suspicion down, but anonymity is vital. Sara looks briefly reluctant but agrees. “I’ll call you if I learn anything more,” Rachel says right before they part ways.

Of course, Rachel already knows much more. It’s just a question of dealing it out to Sara most effectively. If she goes too fast, Sara will get even more suspicious, but if she waits too long, Sara may solve the case on her own, before Rachel can finish her play.

Rachel waits a week before emailing Sara again with new information. Sara has an opening for lunch that day, so they meet in the same place. As Rachel suspected she would, Sara has made significant progress on the case. Luckily, Rachel is still ahead. She may have to accelerate her timeline though.

“This isn’t even my job any longer,” Sara confesses. “Luckily, the investigator assigned to the case gets why we need this success.”

“I get it. Whatever it takes to win,” Rachel says. Sara can’t know how much she means it. 

Rachel isn’t sure if it’s her own manner and abilities, or Sara’s desire to close the case, but Sara’s more open with Rachel this time around. Rachel makes a few light jokes, and Sara laughs easily and jokes back. In the middle of the conversation, Sara’s eyes light up. “Let me see that email chain again.” Rachel obliges, and Sara smiles wider the further she reads. “I’ve got it. It’s been the Hartford ring the entire time.”

Rachel doesn’t bother to hide her surprise. She’d known that from the beginning, but she hadn’t expected Sara to figure it out so quickly. “That was fast.”

“They didn’t promote me for my looks.” The way Sara says it is light, but Rachel can guess at the bitterness that lies below the surface. Sara searches her purse. “I have to go. Let me pay.”

“No, my treat,” Rachel tells her. “Think of it as congratulations.”

Sara races out the door. Rachel stays and finishes her sandwich. No point in letting it go to waste.

This alters the plan. Rachel was supposed to be able to keep Sara on the line longer, learn more about her, and gain her trust. She might be able to still salvage things though. She calls Sara a few days later.

“Do you have more tips for me?” Sara asks a touch playfully. Rachel takes it as a good sign. Her new tactic should work.

“Not this time,” she says. “I was wondering if you’d like to grab a drink. Something to celebrate our teamwork.”

“I have a lot of work to do,” Sara says. But she way she says it suggests it isn’t a no.

“You just recovered a Warhol in record time,” Rachel reminds her. “Surely, that entitles you to one night off. Has anybody ever told you you work too hard?”

“Occasionally,” Sara admits.

“Live a little,” Rachel says with a devil may care air. Sara dated Caffrey, she should be susceptible to that attitude. 

“All right,” Sara accedes. “Did you have a place in mind?”

Rachel names a high-class bar a few blocks from Sara’s flat. Close enough to be convenient should Rachel’s plan work out, but not so close as to cause suspicion. 

They agree to meet at 6:30. Rachel, once again, arrives early enough to scope the place out. Sara arrives exactly on time.

Rachel smiles when Sara sits down. “Thanks for agreeing to meet.”

“I haven’t gone out since I moved here,” Sara tells her. “I thought it was past time I spent an evening outside the office.”

Rachel nods. “I know what it’s like to get caught up in your job. But, really? No girls’ nights out? No dates?”

Sara shrugs. “I just moved here. And my career takes priority.”

Rachel’s smile turns just a bit flirtatious. “Come on. You’re a beautiful, successful, intelligent woman, and you know it. You can’t tell me you’ve had no offers.”

“Like I said, I’ve decided to prioritize my career.” Sara’s tone is brusque, but Rachel can detect a small hint of wistfulness in it. Mostly over her breakup with Caffrey, then, but not entirely. 

Still, Sara’s voice and body language make it clear that that topic is closed. Rachel is disappointed, but not surprised. She hadn’t really expected Sara to divulge all the details of her relationship with Caffrey, however useful that would have been. No, Rachel will have work with inference and implication, putting the pieces together. “To career women,” Rachel toasts, and that loosens Sara up again. 

They chat about London, and Rachel takes the opportunity to get a feel for Rebecca Peterson. She could be a useful alias in the future. Sara tells a few stories about her job, and Rachel comes up with some of her own. She nurses her martini slowly, then asks for a refill before her first drink is truly empty. One of the first rules of spy craft is to be seen as drinking more than one actually is. Rachel is no longer a spy, but the tricks come in handy.

The hour grows late. Sara has been softened by the alcohol, but she’s not drunk or even tipsy. Rachel admires her tolerance. Slowly, she raises her hand and puts it over Sara’s. She doesn’t think she’s miscalculating. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Sara’s relationship with Landon Shepard was more than professional. 

“Was this all a ploy to get me drunk?” Sara asks, not moving her hand away.

“You’re not drunk,” Rachel points out. “And I’m not drunk. And I want to get to know you better.”

Sara takes a moment to think it over. “Yeah, all right.” She leans in closer to Rachel. “My place is nearby.”

“Excellent,” Rachel breaths. 

Sara’s flat is tastefully but minimally decorated. It’s exactly what Rachel expected. She knew from Sara’s hair and clothes that Sara values appearance, but she’s not the type to fill her home with knick-knacks and homey touches. “Nice place.”

“Thank my decorator.”

Rachel smiles. “I think that’s enough small talk, don’t you?” 

Even with her memory, Rachel can barely remember the last time she had sex for nothing but her own pleasure. It was shortly after she joined MI-5, back when she still thought the system had something to offer her. Since then sex has been a tool. She finds the sensations pleasurable, but in distant way. All her conscious thought is consumed with cataloguing information and hunting for weaknesses. 

Sara kisses with passion and hunger. The fierceness in her that shows itself obliquely in her heels and sharp eyes is given full reign now. They make their way to the bedroom, and Sara unzips Rachel’s skirt. “Take your top off.”

Rachel wonders if Sara knows how transparent she is. Going home with a stranger, even a woman, carries an element of risk. Sara wants Rachel to show vulnerability through nudity before she’ll respond in kind. It’s a weakness in its own way. Better to be like Rachel and never feel vulnerable. Still, she acquiesces. She even preens a little. Rachel knows she’s beautiful, and Rebecca Peterson likes to show off. 

Sara smiles before turning around. “Unzip me?”

Rachel makes a show of drawing the zipper down, slowly revealing Sara’s bare skin. She presses a kiss between Sara’s shoulder blades. 

Sara step out of her dress and turns around. She kisses Rachel while moving her hands over Rachel’s breasts. Then she falls down on the bed and grins playfully at Rachel.

The evidence Rachel’s already seen tells a story of its own. Sara’s the type that likes to have fun in bed, but given her insistence on Rachel undressing first, she can also get competitive. Rachel wonders if she was the same way with Caffrey. Probably. Rebecca Lowe will keep the playfulness but drop the competitive edge. It doesn’t fit with the character. 

Rachel lets Sara take the lead as much as possible. This is, after all, research. But she participates enough to stay in character. With her fingers deep inside Sara’s cunt and her lips around Sara’s nipple, Rachel recalls a time when she got a thrill out of reducing a target to a whimpering mess under her hands. Now, she just thinks how impractical the whole arrangement is. Dangerous even, for the other person. She could snap Sara’s neck right here, and the other woman would never see it coming. Lucky for Sara, Rebecca doesn’t kill for no reason.

Rachel whispers dirty talk in Sara’s ear that she herself barely hears. The way her fingers brush against Sara’s clit comes from years of experience, and Sara moans. She draws out Sara’s orgasm as long as she can. Part of it comes from a lack of anything better to do, but another part comes from the piece of her that always wants to do the job well, no matter what that job is.

Sara’s very tactile, and Rachel leaves hickeys all over her breasts and stomach. Finally, Rachel’s fingers work Sara to climax. Sara cries out loudly, and her whole body shudders as she comes. Distantly, Rachel thinks that Sara undoubtedly makes a delightful partner for someone who actually cares. Caffrey must have had a great time. Rebecca Lowe will have to be sexually hungry, even if she’s the type who wants an “emotional connection.”

Sara’s kisses Rachel and dips her hand between Rachel’s legs. _Oh, my turn_ , Rachel thinks. She has to remember to react in all the right ways, but Sara’s an attentive lover. 

It’s a pretty good orgasm, and while Rachel would be the first to admit her sex drive is warped, it’s not dead. Rachel braces for the afterglow, but fortunately, Sara’s not a cuddler. 

“Are you the type who stays for breakfast?” Sara asks her.

“Not really.” It seems safe to admit. 

“Are you the type who slinks off in the middle of the night?”

“Sometimes. I don’t have to be.”

“I don’t cling,” Sara says, “but you can stay for a while if you want.”

Rachel could leave now. She never intended this to be more than a onetime thing. Now that she’s achieved her objective, there’s no reason to court Sara’s good will. But there’s the matter of Rebecca Peterson. She’s not the type to hurry away post-orgasm. “Yeah, I can stick around,” she says.

Sara doesn’t chatter. The silence would be companionable if Rachel were capable of companionship. As it is, she runs over the evening in her mind, adding this new information into her established plans.

It’s unfortunate that Alex Hunter is by all accounts heterosexual. The comparison could have proven valuable. But Rachel will make do with the information she has. She won’t fail. She flat out refuses to fail. Not after all this time.

Going after a treasure without knowing what it is is a risk, no question. But Rachel has been fascinated by Mosconi for years. Every bit of research she’s done indicates the lost treasure is something worth having. Enough to retire on, with any luck, even split two ways. That is if she doesn’t end of killing Hagen. He’s the perfect in, but Rachel doesn’t like him, and she trusts her instincts. Either way, she knows she can handle him. Just like she’ll handle Caffrey, and just like she handled Sara. People aren’t hard to figure out.

Enough time has passed for her to leave without seeming rude. She kisses Sara’s neck before getting up.

“Going?” Sara asks sleepily.

“No rest for the wicked,” Rachel replies. 

The night air is cool, and it quickly dries the sweat still lingering on Rachel’s skin. She’s done with London for now. New York will be her new home for as long it takes. She doesn’t anticipate much of a challenge. Hagen’s competent and intelligent, but he’s more arrogance than brilliance, not that he’ll ever see that. And Caffrey’s too used to being the smartest guy in the room and too dependent on his charm. The FBI could be a complication, but they’re too used to playing by the rules to understand Rachel’s game.

Back at the hotel that is Rachel’s temporary base of operations, she shakes of the remnants of Rebecca Peterson and books a one-way ticket under the name Rebecca Lowe. She feels Rebecca Lowe settle over her. Sweet, nerdy, just a touch awkward. A perfectly crafted weapon.

Just a little longer.


End file.
